Rossi satisfied with beating Pedrosa

The result puts Rossi 11 points clear of Pedrosa in the championship, with Stoner still 45 points adrift despite his commanding victory.

"I'm happy for the podium and for having managed to finish ahead of Pedrosa, these are four extra important points for the championship," Rossi told Italia1 television.

"I wanted to try to win and to stay with Casey, but today we didn't manage to. He's been quicker and better than us and he's deserved to win.

"I'm happy for having gained four points over Pedrosa because in a season like this they will be very important, and anyway I finished second and that's a good result.

"I can't deny I would have preferred to at least fight or try to fight with Stoner. I tried to, I started well, and at the beginning I almost managed to contain him, but in some points I was struggling while he was a bit too fast for me."

Rossi admitted that his Yamaha team had not quite got to grips with their set-up throughout the Donington Park weekend, but reckons they now have a good starting point for next weekend's Assen race.

"Unfortunately we struggled a bit since Friday, and we didn't manage to find the perfect set-up," he said.

"This morning we made a modification and I managed to go quicker, so it wasn't bad but we still had a few problems at the front. I think we can do better. We'll try that immediately next Saturday.

"Assen last year was a great race, it's a track with some nice corners that should be positive for our bike. We must work well, hope the weather is nice, and get revenge with a good fight."

His teammate Jorge Lorenzo, returning after missing Barcelona due to injuries sustained in a practice crash, came through from the back row of the grid to take a strong sixth place.

Lorenzo said he had been extremely cautious to start with, before picking up his pace as his confidence increased.

"The important thing in this race was to get to the finish," he said. "When I realised I was building confidence in the bike and that I wasn't risking a crash, I forced a bit and went quicker.

"Health is important, because you can't live nor race without it. With these powerful and heavy bikes you hurt yourself when you crash, so you need to keep everything under control. Well not everything, but at least 90 percent.

"I have the luck of being a rider who gets faster as the race goes on: when I get in the rhythm I feel more comfortable and can go a lot quicker. We finished close to the fourth position but it's a fantastic result."